When The Sea Comes In
by ablondeinaunionjack
Summary: With all of the changes to the SPMC, Jessica is feeling a little left out. Can Arran help her -  and confess his feelings at the same time? Set after CC, a fluffy Jessica/Arran oneshot. Everything belongs to Julia Golding. T for romance.


**This is a random fluffy oneshot for Jessica/Arran, a pairing which deserves many more stories. I apologise in advance for the poor quality of this, but I am terrible at meeting deadlines and lost track of what week it was...so...anyway, I hope you enjoy it.**

**This is dedicated to everyone at the CQ forums for some incredibly random conversations and interesting subplots...**

Arran gazed out at the sea, glowing silver-white in the moonlight, and sighed. There was only one person he wanted to share this image with, and she was lying in bed miles away, probably fast asleep. He trailed his fingers in the water, stirring up bubbles in the rock-pool, and thought about his companion. It was impossible, of course – he wasn't human, and it just couldn't work. A little voice in the back of his head questioned that thought: was he just putting it off because he was afraid to tell Jessica how he felt? Arran shook his head vigorously, like a dog shaking off water. He was being ridiculous, he knew he was – he had to stop fantasising, and view her as a _companion_, not as...not as the girl he loved.

There was a crunch of pebbles behind him, and he whirled around, annoyed at being disturbed in his soliloquy. The selkie's anger was immediately defused when he saw who it was.

"Jess? What are you doing up?" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

Jessica Moss grinned, and dropped down onto her haunches by the tide-mark.

"Couldn't sleep. What about you?"

"Me neither. I needed to be close to the sea."

Arran crouched down next to her.

"What's up?" he murmured.

Jessica turned her green eyes on him.

"Everything?" she sighed.

The selkie sat down properly and motioned for Jessica to do the same.

"Tell me about it."

"Well...I'm just worried about my exams, and all my friends seem to be pairing off, and...I don't know. Everything's changing, and it's weird."

She grinned sheepishly.

"I don't know why I'm telling you this. It's really not important..."

Arran took her hand with both of his and smiled at her.

"If it`s making you feel bad, then it's important to sort it out."

She smiled, and he blushed, praying that she couldn't see in the moonlight. Jessica squeezed his hand and leant against him.

"I'm glad you're here. It really helps."

Hesitantly, he put an arm around her, and felt her reaching for a mental bond. He deflected it, wanting to hide the feelings that were buzzing around his head. Jessica turned to him, looking surprised.

"Arran?"

He moved away from her, looking away at the cliffs. This was too hard – impossible, even. She was his companion, it would just be wrong to try and make it into anything more. He could feel her hand resting on his back, trying to get him to turn around again.

"Arran?" she repeated softly. "What's wrong? Why won't you encounter me?"

"Just leave it, Jess! Can't you see I'm not in the mood right now? Try giving me some time to myself for a change."

With that he stood up, unable to look back at his companion, and walked forward into the sea until he was knee-deep in surf.

"Arran!"

Jess stood up, her green eyes reflecting the moonlight like a cat's, and her lips half-forming incredulous syllables as the selkie shifted into his natural shape, his seal-form disappearing into the still sea. She ran after him, calling his name.

"Arran, don't do this! Come back! Aargh!" she finished as she caught her ankle in a hole in the rock. She yanked her trainer out savagely and stumbled into the sea, shivering as the water reached her bare ankles. She normally had companion's immunity, but with Arran so distant she felt the sea as any other person on the beach might feel it – numbingly cold and unfriendly. With an incoherent shriek she threw her arms down by her sides helplessly and slumped down, missing the rock she had aimed for and ending up sitting in the icy water. Too miserable to move, she stayed there and gazed at the silent sea, longing for her selkie companion.

"Where are you, Arran? What's wrong?" murmured Jessica, resting her chin on her hands. Her vision was blurred by tears which she blinked away hurriedly, refusing to admit how upset she was, even to herself. "Where are you?"

Arran flicked his seal-tail and twisted his sleek grey body: trying to distance himself from the incident at the beach both mentally and physically. It wasn't working – even as he weaved through strands of seaweed beautifully illuminated by moonlight, his thoughts were focussed only on a far more beautiful sight that he had abandoned just a few moments ago. His seal snout wrinkled as he remembered his anger, the stupid things that he'd said. Of _course_ he didn't want Jess to leave him along – she was his companion! He loved for, for goodness sake, why couldn't he just admit it? Instead he lumbered in there with his usual boorish manner and ruined it all. He let out a heavy, blubbery sigh and swam slowly up to the surface. He needed to go back there, to talk to her and explain everything. If he hadn't messed it all up already. He stared up at the moon, remembering the first time he ever met Jessica Moss.

_Arran stood awkwardly in the Mastersons' barn, longing to shift into his seal form but knowing that he couldn't possibly. Not on dry land, and not before he met the girl who was to be his companion. He gulped nervously and ran a hand through his hair, checking the time on the watch on the other wrist. The girl Jessica Moss should have arrived five minutes ago. He wondered if he'd got the time or date wrong; he hoped not, but it was possible. He paced up and down, feeling odd and awkward in human clothes, and ended up sitting down on a hay bale twitching with nervous excitement.  
There was a scuffling sound and a girl walked in, breathing heavily as if she'd been running._

"_Are you Arran?" she asked, sounding as nervous as he felt._

"_Erm, yeah, I am," he replied, standing up and walking towards her. "You must be Jessica Moss."_

"_Call me Jess," she requested. "I am _so_ sorry I'm late, I got lost and ended up at the wrong bus stop so I had to walk here anyway, and...you don't want to know any of this, I don't know why I'm still talking." She sighed heavily. "So, you're my new companion?"_

_Arran nodded. _

"_That's me. Your selkie companion."_

_Jess smiled, gazing at him as if he was the most interesting thing she'd ever seen. Suddenly she looked away, with red cheeks that matched her hair._

"_I'm sorry – it's just you look so...normal." She covered her mouth and looked embarrassed. "Oh no, I don't mean I think you're abnormal, I just-"_

"_It's okay," assured Arran with an encouraging smile._

_Jessica smiled back. He suddenly noticed how pretty she was, but quickly dismissed the thought. That was no way to feel about his companion. Shaking his head, he tried to focus on the barn door instead of meeting her green eyes._

"_My mentor said we should go swimming as soon as possible. Do you want to go for a swim now?" she asked shyly._

"_I'd love to," replied Arran, finally getting the strength to look her in the eye. "Let's go."_

Arran twisted his seal-form around and swam swiftly back to the beach, knowing exactly what he had to say to Jess. He moved faster, manoeuvring his body for optimum speed. How could he not have realised what to do? It all seemed so simple, so obvious now...He shifted into his human form, his clothes sopping wet with salt water, and walked up onto the shingle beach through the surf.

_I'm sorry it took this long, Jess_, he thought. _But I'm ready now._

He walked along the beach until he saw her figure, slumped against a rock. He frowned, ashamed of himself, and hesitated as he neared her. But he had to do this – it was now, or never. He would _never_ get this chance again.

"Jess?" he asked quietly, sounding as scared as he had on their first day together.

She looked up, tear-tracks on her white cheeks shining in the moonlight.

"You came back. I thought you wanted time on your own," she replied, barely audible.

Arran knelt down next to her, raising one hand to stroke her cheek.

"I was wrong."

Without any further ado, he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against her, allowing her to finally encounter him. He heard Jess gasp and felt her pull away from him. He immediately wondered if he had gone too far – after all, it was a lot to take in at once. Arran opened his eyes and saw her looked at him, astonished. Quickly, he tried to take it back.

"Jess, I'm sorry, I just had to tell you; I don't want to spoil everything, it's just-"

She pressed a finger against his lips, effectively silencing him, her eyes dancing.

"I know," she whispered, and kissed him.

**This is a post for Project PULL set up by Bookaholica711. For more information, go onto my profile for a link.**

**Thanks!**


End file.
